CHESTER — Mayor Thaddeus Kirkland joined Police Commissioner Otis Blair and Chief James Nolan at a noon press conference Friday to send a message to criminals and the public that the city is working to stop a rash of armed robberies in the central city. The perpetrators are described as teenagers who are seemingly engaged in thrill-seeking crime over financial gain.

Officials are calling on the public – particularly utility and construction crews – to remain vigilant, parents to look for signs of suspicious activity by their children, and for anyone to not hesitate in contacting authorities with information related to the crimes.

The officials’ message was made more relevant when a fatal shooting was reported in the area of the robberies at Sixth and Pusey streets hours after the press conference. Details on the shooting were not available at press time.

The police department took the opportunity to announce that the rollout of a Chester police smartphone app is expected in early January to aid the public in getting information to the department. In the meantime, the department is welcoming information by all available means.

“If you see something that doesn’t look right, follow your instincts. Drive away; call 911 immediately,” Blair said. “Don’t go reporting suspicious activity to a friend – call 911 immediately, and understand that there will be a series of questions asked by the call taker. I cannot stress how important these questions are – they help us identity … these individuals; they help us in prosecuting these individuals once they’re apprehended by law enforcement."

“If you know a cop and see him off duty, tell him then, we don’t care how we get the information,” said Nolan. “Obviously boots on the ground do so much – boots in the wrong direction do nothing. Given the right information, we can take care of this problem. With no information, we can’t do anything.”

“Rest assured that we’re taking every step humanly possible,” Blair said of efforts to find the perpetrators. “We may not arrest them today, but there’s always tomorrow. This is not going to swept under the rug.”

Nolan provided city council with favorable preliminary crime statistics for 2018 at a mid-December meeting. The exception to this trend has been a rash of December robberies centered around the 700 to 900 blocks of Pusey, Lloyd and Tilghman streets in the central city.

“Robbery jumped up due to this rash of what’s being described to us as teenagers, ages 15 to 20, in groups committing armed robberies for very little payoff,” Nolan said. “The monetary gains in these robberies are very small, therefore it seems to be more of a thrill-seeking, opportunistic issue than an attempt at gaining funds.”

The majority of the robberies have occurred during daylight hours between 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., according to Nolan. Many victims have been utility workers, and the department is accordingly stepping up coverage around utility and construction activity.

“It’s odd for (workers) to be attacked,” said Nolan. “Throughout my career here … mailmen, PECO workers, water company people – that was completely off limits to crime, which again leads to us to believe it’s a new generation of criminal who doesn’t have the same thought processes of those that came before.”

Kirkland called on parents to be vigilant of their children’s activities and to not allow them to put themselves in harm’s way. “If your child leaves the house in all black clothing, late at night or early, early in the morning; if you see them in a hoodie or a half-mask that covers the nose and the mouth, you as a parent ought to be suspicious.”

“We’re asking parents to check their child’s room for weapons – particularly guns. We don’t want anyone to lose their life,” Kirkland said, referencing a past instance of a city teenager killed in the commission of a robbery by an armed citizen.

To aid the public in communicating with the department, it has been developing a smartphone app expected to be rolled out in early January. The department believes it to be the first of its kind in Pennsylvania for a municipal police force. The success of the Delaware County Sheriff’s Office app has been used as a model by Chester police.

“People can use (the app) to contact the police, submit crime photos, a wanted list – anything they want,” said Nolan. “Anything they want to know about the police department will be on this app.”